Small Business, Big Goals: Farm to Pet Strives to Make a Difference in Pets’ Lives

In honor of small business week and on the heels of our fourth anniversary, we at Farm to Pet would like to reflect on how far we have come and share with you the great big goal that drives our small but mighty company. 

Quite simply, we strive to make a difference in the health and happiness of dogs and cats by making the best healthy pet treats available to as many of them as we can. How do we do that? After all, as an independent family-owned small business, we don’t have the resources of our many larger competitors. Basically, it’s part process, part people and all heart. Here we share some of what our small business does to stay true to our big goals for pets and their families.

When our founder Jackson Jones decided to start his own pet treat company, it was NOT to make subpar treats. During some downtime during the pandemic, Jackson began researching the ingredients, facilities and production processes used to make dog treats, and he was less than impressed. In some cases, he was downright horrified. Similarly, he was surprised by the lack of transparency on packaging and websites, let alone the inability to understand so many of the artificial ingredient names. While Jackson was able to find a few options that offered better nutrition, either they weren’t readily available or they didn’t offer consistently high quality.

His new company aimed to change all that. Jackson named it Farm to Pet since he would use only farm-sourced ingredients to create his healthy dog treats. He vowed never to use any artificial ingredients, or to overprocess natural ingredients to the point of subverting their nutritional value. Instead, he found local suppliers he could trust to provide human-grade chicken breast - and later turkey, beef and fish - rather than meals or byproducts, and ensured there would be the only word on each ingredient list. These all-natural, human-grade ingredients would then be only minimally processed (namely, grinding and dehydrating) and batch-made into perfectly crunchy chips with a pure, natural taste dogs and cats love and the protein-rich nutrition they need.

In keeping with his philosophy of simple ingredients and simple processes, Jackson also wanted to make it as easy as possible to distribute Farm to Pet healthy pet treats. This included keeping close control on the supply chain by relying on US based sources for packaging and equipment as well as farm-fresh ingredients. He was also committed to producing, packaging and shipping every product from the company’s facility in Chicago, IL. Not only did this support other small businesses and the local economy, but it also meant fewer delays, stocking issues and price fluctuations.

In addition, he decided to take his message and his product direct to you, the consumer, focusing on building a name for Farm to Pet online and through social media as well as grassroots marketing and events in his local community. The fewer steps between the farm and your pet, the better! Jones worked hard - and still does - to keep his costs down and his operation efficient, making it easy, quick and affordable for pets to enjoy his nutritious single-ingredient treats without the fat - literally and figuratively. 

With products, procurement and processes to be proud of, and that he continually hones and improves along the way, Jackson’s small business could focus on the biggest goal behind Farm to Pet - to get wholesome and nutritious treats into the mouths of as many dogs and cats as possible to support overall pet health and happiness with every crunch. Not only did this mean making them available for sale, but also through meaningful charity and community outreach, launching new healthy pet products and treat flavors for more variety and appeal, and giving customers ways to economize and streamline their purchases as well.

GIVE BACK

One way Farm to Pet has prioritized pets and their humans since day one is by donating treats and time to rescues and pet organizations. We have even partnered with the Live Like Roo foundation on a special edition bag that raises money for this deserving charity that provides much-needed support to dogs with cancer and their families. If you have an event or charity you’d like us to support, we hope you’ll let us know by sending us a donation request - we’d love to help if we can!

MAKE MORE TREATS

We also prioritize pets by giving them more of what they love - and need! - in the form of more treats! While our original Chicken Chips are filled with low-fat protein and nutrients, we wanted to be sure that we offered healthy treats for pets with chicken allergies, too, so our low-allergen Turkey Chips were born! When our customers clamored for additional varieties and forms of our delectable pet treats, we answered with Beef Chips, soon to be followed with Fish Chips. We also created Treat Toppers pet food toppers, perfect for puppies, kittens, and chewing-challenged fur babies, as well as Crumbles cat treats, loaded with the same nutrition as our single-ingredient protein chips but in nugget-sized morsels.

OFFER WAYS TO SAVE

In addition, we know how expensive pet parenthood can be and want to do whatever we can to make it more affordable to treat pets in a healthy way rather than resorting to less-than-nutritious options. As such, we offer many ways to economize on our premium treats, including periodic specials and discounts, but more importantly, by keeping our shipping costs low, offering value bundles at significant savings, and providing many of our healthy pet treats as part of our Subscribe and Save subscription program at 15% off regular prices every day! And when economic events made prices rise on some of our ingredients, we held our prices firm and will continue to do so as long as we can to help our community through these trying times.

Our company might be small and our healthy pet treats bite-sized, but when it comes to goals - and heart - we go big! We pledge to never sacrifice quality, skimp on production, or stop prioritizing the fur babies and paw-rents that inspire us to do what we do, so we can in fact achieve our lofty goal of promoting the health and happiness of as many dogs and cats as we can - one crunchy healthy pet treat at a time!